March 2006 News

Home > OC News > March 2006

03/29/06 - Beesleys Point Bridge
03/29/06 - OCHS Building
03/29/06 - Bridge Weight Limits
03/29/06 - O C School Board Budget
03/28/06 - Micky Rooney - Doo Dah Parade
03/15/06 - Hotel/Motel Stay Ordinance
03/13/06 - Geotubes
03/11/06 - Water Park Fined
03/01/06 - Four Lanes - Route 52

Van Drew wants bridge open, money back

By Nancy Rump

Staff Writer - Ocean City Gazette

e-published 03/29/2006

(Editor’s Note: Additional reporting for this story was done by Scott Wahl, news director for WCZT radio, 98.7 The Coast, and correspondent Anthony McCurdy, for the Gazette.)

BEESLEY’S POINT – Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew says he wants the owners of the Beesley’s Point Bridge to give back money the state loaned them to repair the span.

The typically mild-manned legislator pulled no punches this week in a radio interview with news director Scott Wahl, of WCZT. He told Wahl, of Cape May County’s local FM radio station, 98.7 The Coast, he not only wants the bridge open this summer; he wants a state takeover of the span.

“In this case, we’re not gonna buy it, we’re gonna take it over,” said Van Drew, in excerpts of the interview, provided exclusively to the Gazette.

Van Drew did not mince words when he said flatly: “And we’re gonna expect money back from the owners.”

Van Drew has long been an advocate for reopening the bridge, which links Upper Township and Somers Point. The span was closed in 2004 after a motorist saw a support piling under the structure leaning to one side.

Since then, there was been documented proof that portions of the bridge are deteriorating. There has also been work done to repair that damage.

And, according to Van Drew, the bridge is now safe for travel.

In the radio interview, Wahl asks Van Drew what he deems “the million dollar question,” – is the bridge safe?

Van Drew responds: “The bridge is safe. I believe it is. I have looked at studies in the past and the present.”

Van Drew says that doesn’t mean the bridge is not in need of work, but stands firm in his belief that if could – and should – be operational now.

According to Van Drew, about a million dollars is needed for short-term repairs on the span. Down the road, he admits, more money will be needed for routine maintenance, as is common with any form of transportation infrastructure.

The Coast’s radio interview with Van Drew came on the heels of a decision made Tuesday by the county Freeholder Board.

Freeholders unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday afternoon demanding that the state act immediately to reopen the Beesley’s Point Bridge.

Since its initial closure almost two years ago, the bridge has been a sore topic for many county residents and officials. It is a particularly controversial issue amongst Upper Township officials. Committeeman Jay Newman, who also serves as the Marmora fire chief, has outlined several hazards the closure poses, mostly eliminating the township rescue squad’s most direct route to Shore Memorial Hospital.

Likewise, Mayor Rich Palombo has pointed to the traffic snarls in Marmora, at the intersection of Route 9 and Roosevelt Boulevard, as an ever-increasing headache.

Both officials see these issues as “an accident waiting to happen.”

Although an operator still works the span’s drawbridge for passing vessels, the bridge itself has banned any vehicular traffic. It is privately-owned and such decisions – although challenged by officials and legislators alike – seemed unlikely to change.

Until now.

Van Drew said he’s got the backing the make things happen.

“We’re going to get that bridge open,” he said. “I’ve had extensive discussions with the owners, the speaker of the Assembly and our new commissioner (of the state Department of Transportation).”

At the recent Cape May County Transportation Conference, Van Drew publicly addressed the bridge issue and soon afterward began working with Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts and Kris Kolluri, the new DOT commissioner, to resolve the problem.

Regarding a state takeover of the span, Van Drew said he investigated the matter and found that no legislation would be necessary for the state to do so.

“This is the only privately-owned bridge that is carried by a state highway in the entire state of New Jersey,” Van Drew said. “There are some other private bridges, (but) most of them do not relate to serious evacuation concerns.”

According to Van Drew, that sets a precedent.

“I believe the state should take the bridge over, that it should become state property,” he said.

State funds were given to bridge owners years ago for repairs – repairs, owners then said, would aid them in keeping the structure open.

Back then, the owners contended, the span – despite being a toll bridge – didn’t net them a profit. According to the owners, they couldn’t come close to paying for necessary repairs and maintenance based on the cash they made from travelers. And so, money was loaned to them by the state. However, the loan, came with a stipulation that the bridge remain open.

Now, according to some officials, a default comes into play.

“I believe the owners have a responsibility to return some, if not all, the dollars that were given to them to restore the bridge to (its) proper function over a decade ago,” Van Drew said

“The days of giving taxpayers’ money to private owners are over,” he said.

Van Drew said the bridge had at least a 50/50 chance of reopening sometime during this summer.

“We have been fighting this out, this has been a long fight, and I believe we are making progress,” he said. “I can’t guarantee it will be opened but, as I have said before, we are going to continue on this road.”

Van Drew added that Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts was in his corner regarding the ongoing issue.

“The speaker has said to me, he is going to work with me to do this,” Van Drew said.

Freeholder Len Desiderio sponsored this week’s Freeholder Board resolution, which includes other issues facing the county, such as partial closure of the Ninth Street Causeway into Ocean City.

Concerns raised in the resolution include not only the traffic concerns, which the Freeholders blame on the state, but the potential effect on evacuation routes for a natural disaster like a hurricane.

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Study to determine future of former OCHS building

Press of Atlantic City
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Updated: Thursday, March 30, 2006

OCEAN CITY — City Council plans to study the benefits of remodeling the old Headley Library versus just knocking it down and building new.

The city saved this section of the old high school when the three-story school was demolished last year. Most recently, the building has been used primarily for storage.

The original intent was to move Community Services employees here from the City Hall Annex. The brick building also would serve as an office for the new tennis courts. But bids to renovate the 5,000-square-foot building on Ocean Avenue to suit its new purpose came in at about $800,000, or twice as high as the city expected, Council President Jack Thomas said.

The city's estimate to demolish the old building and build a new two-story office is $1.4 million.

Council this week agreed to perform a cost-benefit study to examine the financial and practical advantages of both options. That will cost between $10,000 and $20,000, Thomas said.

Councilman Larry Carnuccio said a new building would suit the needs of both the tennis program and the Department of Community Services.

“The current configuration or layout is not conducive to what they want to do,” he said.

Building a new two-story office would free enough land to add 30 metered parking spaces. This might raise about $30,000 per year in new parking revenues.

“The issue I saw is, OK, we're going to spend $600,000 more for 30 parking spots. Is that really worth it?” Thomas said. “Council thinks it's worth the additional money to check everything out thoroughly before we commit.”

The building has been in the shadow of a wrecking ball several times dating to 1995 when the Board of Education spared it for classroom use. The building was named for the late Harry Headley, mayor of Ocean City from 1911 to 1915 and 1931 to 1935.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

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Bridge weight limits restricts bus lines into Ocean City

Press of Atlantic City
By J. STAAS HAUGHT Staff Writer, (609) 272-7253
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Updated: Thursday, March 30, 2006

Public transportation into the Ocean City area is being trimmed due to weight restrictions on the Route 52 causeway, NJ Transit said Wednesday.

Starting April 8, direct-line bus service to Ocean City will be cut off on one route, a stop in Somers Point will be skipped on another line, and run times will be adjusted on two others, the agency said.

The changes are needed to accommodate weight restrictions and traffic concerns on the Route 52 causeway connecting Somers Point and Ocean City. The road was temporarily shut down in January after routine inspections found structural damage to the aging corridor.

NJ Transit said the 551 line, starting in Philadelphia, will no longer extend to Ocean City, instead, it will end in Atlantic City. Riders can then hop on either the 507 line running direct to Ocean City or pick up the 509 with a stop in Somers Point. Run time schedules for both of those lines are being adjusted to accommodate detours around the causeway.

Shutting down the road, also known as the Ninth Street Causeway, was originally considered as a permanent move, but state Department of Transportation officials eventually opened up two lanes and said by Memorial Day all four lanes will be flowing — at reduced speeds and with upgraded guardrails.

The entire causeway is to be replaced by 2012, but the state is adding incentives to the plan to get the job done by 2008. Meanwhile, weight restrictions are still in place along the narrow stretch.

“We've been advised that the work could take four or five years,” NJ Transit spokeswoman Courtney Carroll said. “So the route adjustments will be in place for the length of the project.”

The 319 line from New York to Ocean City, via Atlantic City, will no longer stop in Somers Point, because buses along that route will instead use the Garden State Parkway. Riders needing service to Somers Point from that line will have to catch the 509 bus in Atlantic City. Morning weekday trips on that run will pick up at South Carolina Avenue at 7:55 a.m., instead of at Atlantic and Ohio Avenues at 7:59 a.m.

“Riders will have to make some adjustments for that line,” Carroll said.

Plans for the Route 52 causeway project had to be adjusted after an initial round of bids came in well above the projected cost. Once completed, the new causeway will have two elevated bridges between Ocean City and Somers Point. But instead of being elevated their entire length, the bridges will dip to ground level along Rainbow Island.

Bus-line changes, including other adjustments to routes in northern New Jersey, are available at www.njtransit.com

To e-mail J. Staas Haught at The Press: JHaught@pressofac.com

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Ocean City school board approves $41M. budget

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2006
Updated: Thursday, March 30, 2006

OCEAN CITY — The Board of Education approved a $41.2 million school budget Wednesday that calls for a small decrease in the tax rate.

The board voted 6-3 to approve the budget, but not before two hours of discussion, primarily among teachers who want a second guidance counselor at the primary school.

The Upper Township representatives showed their displeasure with the district's high per-pupil spending by voting against the budget. Per-pupil spending is the basis for Upper's tuition at Ocean City High School.

“We're getting close to college-education tuition,” board member and Upper Township representative Sandra O'Brien said.

Board member David Winslow cast his yes vote by telephone via a conference call loudspeaker.

The district's total budget is going up by about $1 million over last year. But the school-tax rate will drop from 26.5 cents to 25.6 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.

With a proposed tax levy of $20.5 million, the owner of a $100,000 property would pay $256 in school taxes. The owner of a $500,000 home would pay about $1,280 in school taxes this year.

The board will ask its personnel committee to review teachers' request to hire a second guidance counselor at the primary school. If filled, that position — estimated at $100,000 in salary and benefits — will be paid through budget transfers that will not affect this year's tax levy, Business Administrator Doris Isaacs said.

Acting Superintendent David Moyer did not recommend filling the position because doing so will increase per-pupil spending at the school.

“You're spending $18,466 per child. How much more do you want to spend?” he asked the teachers. “The money is going into classrooms.”

O'Brien noted that the budget called for significant cuts for instructional materials in the K-8 budget and significant increases in instructional materials for the high school. The latter costs presumably would be shared with Upper Township's taxpayers.

Likewise, she noted the district was budgeting $214,000 more for guidance counselors even though initially there are no plans to add any positions. Isaacs said that increase accounted for salary hikes and other expenses.

The district budgeted $50,000 for a proposed stellar observatory to cover costs associated with permit applications and design fees.

Meanwhile, the board postponed a vote Wednesday on a plan to change health-insurance carriers until the teachers union can get more information. As proposed, the change will save taxpayers at least $476,675 or a half-cent on the tax rate, Moyer said. Isaacs disagreed, saying she did not think the savings would be as great.

Voters will get their say on the budget April 18.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City

Published: Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Updated: Tuesday, March 28, 2006

OCEAN CITY — Publicist Mark Soifer was looking for a grand marshal for this year's Doo-Dah Parade, the city's annual spring folly.

Mickey Rooney's name came up.

With a hugely successful appearance last year by Carol Channing, the bar for comedic talent was set especially high. But Soifer had no idea how to contact the star of “National Velvet” and “The Black Stallion.”

Naturally, Soifer Googled him. Rooney, 85, has his own Web site - www.mickeyrooney.com
and Soifer ordered up Rooney like a bouquet of flowers. Somewhat pricey flowers, as it turns out. Rooney agreed through his online booking agency to participate in Ocean City's second-favorite parade for $5,000.

This was far more than previous honorees, which have included the late Ernie Kovacs, the late W.C. Fields and the late Charlie Chaplin.

“When we honor the dead people, it's always more economical,” Soifer noted.

As always, the city will provide celebrity treatment: airfare from his home in California, limousines, meet-and-greets with city officialdom and accommodations at the Port-O-Call Hotel.

Since the booking, Soifer has been planning a full weekend of activities around the star of “Boys Town.”

The city invited Rooney to the Basset Olympics, in which dozens of the hounds waddle for gold at the Ocean City Tabernacle grounds the day before the April 22 parade. After the parade, the city will host a vaudeville-style tribute to the actor at the Ocean City Tabernacle.

“It's not like we're making him perform. We're honoring him,” Soifer noted.

Not that Rooney wouldn't oblige. The actor is still working at the craft he helped define in more than 200 films. He is scheduled to appear in an ensemble comedy this year with Robin Williams. In April, Rooney will embark on a European tour for “Let's Put On a Show,” a stage act he does with his wife, Jan. Rooney has been married eight times.

Meanwhile, Soifer has been busy writing and re-writing the script for Rooney's musical tribute. If ever a writer were up to the task, it's the creator of city mascot Martin Z. Mollusk. Soifer even penned an audience sing-a-long with Elvis impersonator Ted Prior for the big finish.

“I don't know of a more versatile performer in Hollywood. He sang and danced, played instruments. The guy was in a movie every year. That doesn't count the plays and things he was in,” Soifer said.

Having a household name gives the parade more media pull, he said.

“It helps the prestige of the event,” Soifer said. “We certainly can't compete with the casinos for having celebrities. But considering Rooney was a legendary actor and comedian, you're doing pretty good.”

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

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Ordinance seeks to limit hotel/motel stays
Ocean City Gazette 3/15/06

OCEAN CITY – An ordinance to limit the stay in the city’s hotels and motels to 90 days in a year passed 6-0 on first reading Thursday, March 16 with councilman Ronald Denney abstained because he feared his colleagues misunderstood the ordinance.

The handful of local rooming houses and guest houses located in the city were removed from the time-limit restriction.

The proposed ordinance comes on the heels of private studies conducted by the owners of two proposed hotel projects — Boardwalk Plaza Suites and Soleil — suggesting the city needs more rooms at hotels and motels to accommodate visitors who come for a weekend or single night.

Also, in an effort to keep the resort from losing more transient lodging to condominium conversion, the council on Thursday considered an ordinance that would force hoteliers to get approval from the planning board before they could change the property's use.

The time-limit restriction breaks down to 30 days in any fiscal quarter or 90 days total in a year. Galloway Township and Wildwood placed similar limits on hotel stays last year.

Councilman Gregory Johnson said he feared by including rooming houses in the ordinance, it would put people out on the street. Johnson said he lived in rooming houses for a long time because he could not afford to live anywhere else.

Business Administrator Richard Deaney said the time limits might put the city in the awkward and expensive position of relocating people under the law.

A public hearing is scheduled for March 30.

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Ocean City looks to add more geotubes

Published 3/13/2006 - Ocean City Gazette

OCEAN CITY – The city is about to finish its first geotube installation project and is planning another to protect the resort’s beaches.

Geotubes deflect tidal erosion. The one Ocean City is working on now is about 1,500 feet, located at the beach are along Morningside Road.

The $400,000 pilot project began in January. Similar geotubes have saved neighboring Sea Isle City’s beaches along Ocean Drive from nor’easters.

Ocean City officials say they’re considering adding more geotubes in other erosion-prone areas, specifically those downtown.

Areas they are eyeing include beach blocks from Fifth to 14 streets. These areas have some of the smallest beaches in the city during the summer because they’ve been compromised by winter erosion. They are also the most popular with tourists, which is why they’re now high on the city’s priority list.

The north end of the city, where geotube installation is nearly compete, benefited from the environmental safeguard most recently during the storms that impacted the area this winter.

Officials said the city’s geotube project will be credited to its local contribution to the next federal beach fill schedule for 2007.

Geotubes requires some maintenance, including being covered with sand to protect the fabric from the sun’s rays

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State fines Ocean City park in drowning
Guards lost track of girl, 13, in shift change, report says

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Saturday, March 11, 2006
Updated: Saturday, March 11, 2006

OCEAN CITY — A coincidental shift change among lifeguards might have cost the life of a 13-year-old girl who drowned last summer at a Boardwalk water park, a state report concluded.

The state fined Gillian's Island Water Park $25,000 this week for five safety violations in the Sept. 2 drowning of Jasmin Winder, of Olney, Pa.

The state Department of Community Affairs concluded that human error was to blame for the accident. The agency said lifeguards lost track of the teenager during a shift change that coincided with her plunge into the pool off a water slide at 3:49 p.m. that Friday, the start of the long Labor Day weekend.

Investigators with the state Bureau of Code Services inspected the ride, reviewed police reports, conducted interviews and reviewed security tapes of the water slide Shotgun Falls.

Jasmin was riding the twin water slides with her older sister, 16-year-old Michele, that day. Jasmin went first on the left slide. The report said the teenager followed all posted and verbal instructions and dropped uneventfully into the receiving pool, but she never surfaced.

Michele took the right slide immediately afterward and landed in the same pool. A security video of the ride showed Michele leaving the pool and searching the area around it for her sister. At Michele's request, the park paged Jasmin five times to no avail.

According to the security video, a lifeguard dove into the pool at about 4:45 p.m. to retrieve a pair of sunglasses. The guard apparently did not see the girl. A second guard dove into the pool at 5:20 p.m. to retrieve another pair of sunglasses and this time found Jasmin about three feet from the bottom — 91 minutes after she disappeared beneath the surface.

The lifeguard called for help and began administering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. The girl was pronounced dead at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point.

“Given the rotation at the start tower and the distractions at the lower pool location, the guards lost count of the rider sequence and thus the rider,” the three-page report concluded.

The Cape May County Medical Examiner ruled that Jasmin drowned. The examiner found no evidence of physical trauma such as a head injury, according to the autopsy report.

Investigators concluded the Shotgun Falls water slide did not have enough ride operators. Lifeguards who supervised the ride were not trained properly on safety procedures. And the pool where riders plunge into the water was too turbid or cloudy for operators to see to the bottom.

Jasmin's mother, Karen Fields Winder, in February filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the park. The lawsuit alleges that the ride was understaffed when Jasmin drowned.

In a court affidavit, Michele Winder testified that she asked a lifeguard about the whereabouts of her sister.

“I asked him, ‘Did you see my sister come up?'” she said. “The lifeguard on the bridge responded to me, ‘No, I didn't see anyone. Go to the office and have her paged.'”

Karen Winder could not be reached for comment. She has an unlisted phone number in Pennsylvania. Her lawyer, Gustine J. Pelagatti of Philadelphia, declined to comment Friday.

Gillian's attorney, Lary I. Zucker of Cherry Hill, filed court papers Thursday denying any negligence by the park. In court papers, Zucker noted the ride met all industry standards.

“The alleged accident was the result of plaintiff in failing to heed posted warnings,” the attorney wrote. “Plaintiff's alleged injuries came about or were caused by forces or persons or parties other than defendants and over which or whom defendants had no control.”

Zucker did not return calls seeking comment Friday. The owners of Gillian's Wonderland Pier and Gillian's Island Water Park could not be reached for comment. The park is closed for the season.

In 1999, a mother and daughter were killed after they were thrown from a Wonderland Pier roller coaster that malfunctioned. After a five-month investigation, the DCA fined Wonderland Pier and the ride manufacturer $25,000 and $30,000, respectively, for codes and standards violations.

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Four lanes will flow again on Route 52
State will replace guardrails in time for Memorial Day

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 2006

OCEAN CITY — All four lanes of the Route 52 causeway will be reopened to car traffic by Memorial Day, state officials said Tuesday.

Acting Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said the state will spend about
$1 million to repair guard rails so concrete barriers that block two lanes can be removed on the main entrance to Ocean City.

The speed limit will be reduced to 25 mph the length of the 2.5-mile causeway between Somers Point and Ocean City, Kolluri said.

“One of the things I know from being from South Jersey is how important tourism is,” he said. “Considering the economic benefits that will be realized by making this four lanes, it is well worth the investment.”

Motorists and residents in four area towns were alarmed when the state closed two lanes of the causeway in January with little notice. They feared the lane closures would lead to gridlock throughout the region.

The truck ban will remain in place. The narrow road — also called the Ninth Street causeway — will get slightly narrower. The two center lanes will span 10 feet in width. The outer lanes will lose a foot apiece. A rumble strip will divide the four lanes of travel, Kolluri said.

Kolluri said the road was one of his priorities when he took over as acting commissioner a month ago.

The improvements need only last until 2012 when a new, replacement causeway is completed.

“I think it's worthwhile,” Ocean City Mayor Bud Knight said of the temporary fix. “Otherwise, we're looking at three or four years of lane restrictions.”

Kolluri said the state likely will repair the causeway at night.

Ocean City is still considering ways to improve traffic flow this summer. The mayor said the city is considering opening the Ocean City-Longport Bridge and Gardens Parkway to smaller delivery or panel trucks.

“Nobody wants to see big trash trucks or tractor trailers coming in,” Knight said.

Meanwhile, the state has redesigned the new causeway in an effort to cut costs. In January the state rejected bids that came in $93 million higher than the $150 million budgeted for the first half of construction.

The new configuration still calls for building two elevated bridges from Ocean City to Somers Point. But instead of being elevated their entire length, the bridges will drop to ground level over the 1,800 feet of Rainbow Island. This will shave as much as $60 million in construction materials, Project Manager Dave Lambert said.

On Rainbow Island, the causeway will be built atop a 4-foot berm to raise it above rising tides during the worst coastal storms.

The state is keeping its plans to build a new Ocean City visitor center, fishing piers and parking lots.

The state also will allow an alternate steel design in the hope of attracting more bidders, Lambert said.

The new causeway is expected to be complete by 2012. But the state is including an incentive clause in its construction contract to get one of the two two-lane spans open by the summer of 2008, Kolluri said.

After the conference Tuesday, James Johnston Jr. of Agate Construction confronted Lambert in the lobby to refute his claims that the initial bids were not competitive. Johnston's Dennis Township company was the lowest bidder with $243 million to complete the first phase of the project.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

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Ocean City orders up Mickey Rooney for Doo-Dah Parade